Brotherly Love
by Antoinette St. Clair
Summary: Leonardo's been dead for a year. As Raphael muses on his death and begs Leo to come back, will he get his wish? Ok, I reread it, WARNING : RaphLeo slash & fluffiness...hehe....


I do not own Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, or Donatello. I just like to play with them.

**Brotherly Love...**

It was late one night, and Raphael was sitting on a rooftop's ledge as the the sky opened up reavealing a thunderstorm. He remembered when he and his brother had fought on a night like this...

_"You are so smug, you know that? You think the world revolves around you, don't ya?"_

_As Raphael continued to speak, Leonardo slowly stood after being kicked to the ground and glared at Raphael._

_"...Well I gotta newsflash for ya, We got along just fine without you!"_

_"Oh, and this qualifies as just fine?! Dressing up like it's halloween everynight? Risking the safety of our family? I mean, c'mon, what were you thinking?!"_

_"Don't push it, Leo."_

_Raphael pointed at Leonardo accusingly and took a few steps forward._

_"You can't leave home and come back expectin' us to fall in line again! Like your little _soldiers_!"_

_They began to circle each other._

_"Hey, I was training! Training to be a better leader! FOR YOU! Why do you hate me for that?!"_

_"And whoever said I wanted to be LED?! I'm better off callin' my own shots, now get used to it!"_

_"YOU...AREN'T...READY! You're impatient, and hot tempered, and more importantly,..."_

_Leonardo stopped pacing and looked at Raphael angrily._

_"...I'm better than you."_

_Raphael threw back his head and laughed coldly._

_"Ah, you know somethin' big brother..."_

_Raphael stopped walking and pulled out his sais._

_"I'd have to disagree with ya on that one."_

_He got into a fight ready stance, and the two brothers just glared at each other for a moment._

_"...Don't do this Raph..."_

_"...I'm done takin' orders..."_

Raphael closed his eyes and hung his head. That had happened about 2 years ago, and Raphael still felt ashamed of what he had done to his brother. He had ended up getting him kidnapped that night! And...Leonardo almost died...

That only made Raphael feel worse, because exactly one year ago...on the very rooftop he was sitting on,...

He had murdered Leonardo.

_Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Raphael plunged his sai directly into Leonardo's heart. The world seemed to have stopped, and Raphael could barely hear the sounds of the city below. All he could hear was his heart beat, and his brother's heart stop._

As the rain began to fall, Raphael's tears began to fall.

And as the thunder began to gradually grow louder, so did Raphael's sobs.

He didn't return home after he had killed Leonardo. Not that night, anyway. He kneeled, clinging onto his brother like he was trying to keep him in one piece. He stayed there all night, and returned to the lair the next morning without his older brother.

Life without Leo was hard. It still is hard. Raphael would give anything to see Leonardo's living, colorful face again. Oh, what he wouldn't do to listen to one of Leonardo's well deserved lectures...

Leonardo had always been a pain in Raphael's ass, but he loved Leonardo, and Leo was his best friend.

Raphael pretends like it doesn't bother him anymore. He pretends like he's moved on. Like he's forgotten.

But he will never forget.

He'll never forget the look in Leonardo's eyes when he died. It wasn't a sad or disappointed look. It was a peaceful, calm, even satisfied look. And he'll never forget what Leonardo said to him, either.

_"I...I'm s...sorry you h...hate me...j...just remember that...that I d...don't hate you...I love you,...Raphael..."_

That was the last thing he said. And as Raphael remembered, his sobs grew even louder.

"Leo...please come back...we need you...I need you..."

Just a few moments after he said that, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He thought it was either Mikey or Donnie.

"Don, Mike, or whoever you are,...please...just, just leave me alone..."

"If you say so, Raph."

That didn't sound like Donatello_ or _Michelangelo! In fact,...it kind of sounded like,...No. It couldn't be...could it?

As the hand began to slide off his shoulder, Raphael grabbed it suddenly and held a tight grip on it.

"Wh...who are you," he asked softly without turning around.

He heard the sound of someone kneeling down behind him, and then he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his body. They didn't squeeze him too tight, it was just a very gentle and comforting squeeze.

"M...mike, is that you...?"

The figure smiled as they rested their head on Raphael's shoulder.

"Guess again."

"Donnie?"

"No,..."

Raphael thought he knew who it was, but he was too afraid to guess and be wrong.

"C'mon, Raph, you're getting closer."

Raphael remained silent.

"Raph. I know you know who it is. Why won't you just say it?"

The figure began to stroke Raphael's upper arms encouragingly. Raphael closed his eyes and spoke just above a whisper.

"I...I don't want to be wrong..."

The figure kissed Raphael on the back of his head and said, "How can I make you see you're not wrong?"

Raphael thought for a moment, and then answered.

"What was the last thing you said to me?"

The figure thought for a moment, and then whispered.

"I'm sorry you hate me. Just remember that I don't hate you."

Tears were streaming down Raphael's face.

"I love you, Raphael."

That did it. Raphael let out a loud sob and then whipped around and buried his face in his brother's shoulder.

"Leo...!"

Leonardo held his little brother close to him and whispered comforting words into his ear.

"It's ok, Raph. I'm here. I won't leave you."

"Leo! I-I'm sorry! I-I d-don't h-hate you! I love you!"

"I know Raph. It's ok. I love you, too."

"B-but...how...?"

Leonardo smiled.

"Well, after you left me on the rooftop, someone found me. They cleaned my wound while I was out, and I woke up in Japan. I owed the man my life, but he only made me stay with him for 1 year. Yesterday, he allowed me to return. I literally just got here. When I saw you up here,...I...I couldn't just _not_ stop by. I wanted to see you...I _needed_ to see you."

Raphael didn't let go of Leonardo. He didn't loosen his grip at all. Leonardo continued to comfort him.

"I really missed you Raph..."

"I m-missed y-you too, L-leo..."

Leonardo kissed him on the head, and held him tighter than before.

"Hey,...L-leo...?"

"Yeah, Raph?"

"P-please...d-don't leave me again..."

Leonardo closed his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, ok? I promise."

The two brothers sat there clinging onto each other for God knows how long. Part of Leonardo wanted to go home to see Donatello & Michelangelo, but the other part wanted to stay there with Raphael. He and Raph almost never had moments like this. He enjoyed the times Raphael would actually admit that he loved him, and he enjoyed the feeling of being needed.

Raphael didn't want to go home at all. He wanted to stay there in Leonardo's arms. After all that time of feeling depressed and helpless...after a year of thinking your best friend was gone...

"Leo?"

"Huh?"

"I don't wanna go home..."

Leonardo chuckled.

"Honestly, neither do I. But..."

Leonardo pulled away from Raphael's grip, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"...How do you think Don & Mike would feel if they think they lost _two_ brothers, huh?"

Leonardo smiled at Raphael.

"Eventually, we will have to go back. But for right now,..."

Leonardo placed a hand under Raphael's chin.

"...Let's just make the most of our time together, ok?"

Raphael smiled back.

"Yeah. Ok."

Leonardo stood up, and held his hand out for Raphael. When Raphael took it, Leonardo pulled him up.

They began to walk side by side to the edge of the rooftop.

"So, whaddya want to do?"

"As long as I'm with you, Leo, I honestly don't care."

"Hm...then, let's race!"

"Alright! On your mark,...get set,...g-"

"GO!"

Leonardo began to sprint, and for a second, Raphael just stared after him in disbelief. Then, regaining himself, he smiled and ran after his brother.

"HEY! THAT'S CHEATING!"

Leonardo just laughed.

They ran along the rooftops together. Happy, because the two best friends were together and at peace once more.


End file.
